X's Character Q&A, Part III

Part I / Part II

Hey all! The voting for the poll came in, and nearly half of you voted for X! There were also several questions sent in that will be answered for this Q&A as well as for A's and R's ✨

What kind of animal would you say you most resemble?
"That's easy, a lion. I like having my own pride."

What would other people say, do you think?
"Azad/Ashti would call me a peacock. I know this because they have called me a peacock in the past. Can't even deny it, really; I do like showing off. Dara/Delal would probably call me an ass."

Like, a donkey?
"Sure, that too."

What's one skill that you'd like to learn if you had unlimited time and resources?
"Learning other languages. I know several dialects from Rojan and can hold my own in other provinces very well, but whenever we travel south of Zeratun I have to rely on Tûjo and Heval to talk to people there. I struggle with Penawar's dialects too, since they've been mixed with the old tongue from the peris who live there.

"And don't even get me started on Şevan, they have an entirely different language with a completely different system of writing! Whenever Tûjo starts speaking Hathurian I can't understand a single word that comes out of his mouth. Sometimes he does it solely to bully me, I think."

Do you know any languages from places outside of Arsur?
"I know exactly one Thallosian phrase. βάλλε εἰς κόρακας."

What does that mean?
"I don't remember, but I'm pretty sure it's a curse of some sort. The last person who said it to me was very angry."

Was it because you slept with someone's parent again?
"No! It was their grandparent! Get your facts right."

In terms of promising yourself to someone else, what do you envision the ceremony would look like for you if you would have one at all?

(For context, such ceremonies involve binding two or more people's magic together; they can either be performed in temples by priests or in natural places with high concentrations of spirits/magic, called Sacred Sites).
"Of course, I'd like to celebrate with my closest friends and the Blades, so I'd like them to be present. Other than that, I would want it to be performed by spirits in Sacred Sites rather than in a temple by some priest I don't even know. It's an intimate affair, after all.

"If my promised one didn't have any preferences, I would choose a site in the Armas Mountains; it's almost an obligation to have it there, as someone born in Rojan!"

What would be your ideal vacation?
"Throwing a month-long celebration in a big city, with festivities and banquets from morning til night. Really being able to let loose and have fun with friends and loved ones without worrying about anything else."

Wouldn't that get exhausting after, uh, the first week?
"Of course it wouldn't be every single day! You'd have to have days to recover from all the debauchery. Even I can't keep that up for a straight month (though I have tried)."

Would you ever want to travel outside of Arsur?
"Sure, why not? I don't have a particular desire for it, but it would be interesting to visit other regions for a little while. Not too long, though. I have a feeling I would get homesick very quickly."

What's your favorite province to visit outside of Rojan?
"Avdin, without a doubt, though I may be biased since aside from Zerat, that is also the place I've spent the most time outside of Rojan. Azad/Ashti showed me around their mother's hometown once where I met [their] grandparents, and a few of [their] mother's siblings and [their] cousins. They're very warm people, and it's a beautiful place with breathtaking beaches.

"There's a sense of peacefulness in the smaller towns and villages that you can't find anywhere else, and the bustle of the big cities is my favorite. There are so many interesting people you can meet there from faraway places."

Do you wish you'd met the Crown before they were the Crown?
"Never thought about that before, but now that you mention it, I absolutely do. I could've helped to protect [them] and [their] family."

You wouldn't have been that much older than [them] when [their] eyes first turned gold.
"I'm not saying I would've been completely successful. You never know how things in a hypothetical scenario like that would've ended up, if things would've been better or worse... and maybe this is my own arrogance, or wishful thinking, but I'd like to think I could've made things better for [them]. At the very least, [they] would have had another person [they] could rely on. That would've counted for something, right?"

If you were caught stealing from a (modern) store, what would you have taken?
"I would never get caught stealing, first of all. Second of all, probably food or medicine. If I'm stealing from a store it would be out of necessity, not to get some kind of kick out of it. That's just sad."

What kind of nerd would you have been in (modern) school?
"A gym nerd. A fitness freak. A jock is what I'm saying."

That's not really what a 'nerd' is, in the popular definition of the word.
"Says who? I am very serious and passionate about athletics. Do you think these muscles grew themselves out of thin air?" [Flexes their arms].

What about theoretical subjects, would you have any favorites?
"History. I think it's one of the most important things you could ever learn about."

Oh, Dara/Delal said the same thing about history.
"I take it back. Math. I'd absolutely be into math. 1 + 1 = 2, great stuff. A real classic."